Crimson Rose
by crowquills
Summary: Set after the battle but before the wedding, Belle must over come the culture shock of everyone becoming human and learn to love the man who was once a Beast.
1. Chapter 1

Ch. 1 Culture Shock

Belle sat in her bedroom at her vanity and felt uncomfortable in the silence. The furniture was no longer alive, simply cold wood and stone. Her mirror would no longer tell her she was beautiful, her wardrobe never help her with her clothes. Yes, she had servants for that now, but could she ever call anyone a servant?

She thought about this in order to prevent her from thinking of what was really bothering her. The man. The man downstairs. The man talking with her father about the use of treasure and gold to repair damages to the castle, to clear the landscape, to buy carriages and horses and stable boys, and so on. The man who was a prince and no longer her Beast.

Belle wrapped her arms around herself and looked up into the mirror. Two nights ago, during the attack of the villagers…and Gaston…she had been a brave young woman. Now she felt like a lost little girl…as lost as she had felt the first night inside this…what once was an enchanted castle.

A knock at the door interrupted her reprieve. Belle took a beep breathe and tried to remember what she had been doing – the brush near her hand reminded her and she continued to brush out her hair. "Come in."

Mrs. Pots opened the door and smiled at the girl at the vanity. Few people had seen Belle since the battle, since the change. Chip was one of the few that could elicit a smile from Belle these days, and the others…they were too preoccupied with their newfound humanity.

"Hello dear," Mrs. Pots said softly as she closed the door behind her.

Belle smiled weakly up at the older woman as she set her brush down. "Hello Mrs. Pots." She turned to face the woman fully and fidgeted a little with the hem of her sleeve, guessing that this discussion was inevitable.

Mrs. Pots stood before the girl and was reminded that, though a woman, Belle was still so very young. "We haven't seen much of you lately. Lumere says you haven't even been in the library."

Blushing, Belle nodded, "I have quite a few books up here in my room to suit me for now," she gestured to a stack beside her bed and another beside the window seat. It was a lame excuse but all Belle had.

Looking at the stacks of books Mrs. Pots nodded and went on, "And we've not seen you come down for dinner."

"I've been very tired lately…" Belle looked down at her slippered feet.

"And the Prince has been asking about you."

"Has he now…strange I thought he was very busy, what with the renovations and the diplomatic councils that have been coming and going."

"Belle," Mrs. Pots frowned and her tone grew stern. "What is going on in that pretty little head of yours? For a girl who is so very smart you sure aren't acting like it."

Bell felt tears sting her eyes. She knew she wasn't acting maturely but she was frightened. That man downstairs was foreign to her…so terribly different from the Beast she remembered…and missed.

Seeing the tears, Mrs. Pots knelt down next to Belle's vanity seat and pulled and handkerchief from her pocket and dabbed the girls cheeks. "Now, now dear. No need for that. Tell me, what is the matter."

Through the tears, Belle poured out her heart and all the troubles she had been dwelling on in the past two days. How Adam was so different from Beast, how she had no idea how to act around him, how the shock of everything suddenly being so different…it was as if she was right back to where she started. How everyone expected her to be a princess now but Adam hadn't even touched her since that night nor had he mentioned marrying her. How all of this was so overwhelming all she wanted to do was hide and read and not think about it.

Mrs. Pots listened and hugged the girl close. By the end of it the handkerchief was soaked and both women were sitting on the floor between the seat and the vanity. Patting Belle's head, Mrs. Pots began to contemplate a plan.


	2. Chapter 2

Ch.2 Pots Planning

Adam saw Maurice out of his office and sighed as he closed the door. He had spent the last forty minutes assuring Belle's father that there was definitely some interest in his invention that would help the lumber min clear out some of the forest on his castle grounds for renovations. The lumbermen had been there earlier that morning begging him to make Maurice destroy his machine, or, at least, use it far away from any person it could harm.

He sat at his desk and looked around the room. A long time ago, before the enchantress came, this had been his father's office. When his family had fled the enchantment, and long since died, these rooms had been closed off. Now it was open, cleaned out and, for the most part, bare. Lumiere and Cogsworth were still arguing over decorating this part of the palace. Rumor was the two had tried to start in on Belle's quarters with some sort of Neo-baroque décor and Mrs. Pots and Madame Armoire ran to the girl's aid. As far as he knew, the room hadn't changed since Belle came here…and he dearly wish he knew what it looked like inside now…knew what his beloved gazed upon during her day…the feel of her bed were she slept.

Adam pushed the thought away and sighed. He had barely seen Belle in two days. The last two nights he had hoped to see her at dinner, to reach across and grasp her hand, to feel warmth flood through him by a single glance of her large, doe-like eyes. But both nights he was disappointed. Mrs. Pots informed him Belle had dined in her room and retired early.

Maurice had tried to console the prince, told him Belle often desired to be alone, "the introverted young thing."

Looking at the letters from foreign diplomats who had heard of the Prince's return, Adam contemplated skipping dinner tonight himself. Hearing a knock at the door, Adam about shouted at whoever it was to go away but refrained lest it be Maurice again or Chip, who often came to bring news of Belle. "Come in."

It was Mrs. Pots, to Adam's surprise, looking somewhat agitated and not her usual, rosey self. "How can I help you, Mrs. Pots?"

The older woman looked Adam over. She was impressed by the prince, he was a handsome young man who had retained his youth despite the decades enchanted. Still, in his blue eyes and how he carried himself, there was still a hint of the Beast within, lurking. "My lord…its…" She faltered a bit, not wanting to give too much away about what the young lady upstairs was going through.

"What is it, Mrs. Pots?" Adam did his best to restrain his irritation but it came out in his tone, only angering the woman before him.

"It's Belle." She stated roughly.

At this Adam sat up, "What is it? What's wrong with her? Is she sick?"

Mrs. Pots shook her head, "No, nothing like that." She considered a way to say this, "Belle is…like most of us, thrown off by the changes going on at the palace."

"Have Cogworth and Lumiere tried to redecorate her rooms again? I'll have a word with them immediately."

"No…well…yes but Belle set them in her place, she prefers a soft, Victorian look…but that is besides the point, My Lord. Belle is bothered by the changes she sees in you." It was blunt, but Mrs. Pots saw that they would get nowhere without being up front with the prince.

This statement stopped Adam in his thought process. "Changes…in me?" He had wondered if Belle was avoiding him because of how different he looked now. He knew that before the enchantment he had several women seeking his attention and his looks had not changed much. Was he now, no longer her type? It had been a silly thought for surely a woman who could love a beast would not care about looks. But something had been wrong and he hadn't felt ready to address it with her, especially as she hadn't been near at hand for any sort of discussion.

"Sire…I know it is not my place…" Mrs. Pots ventured.

"You know that I hold your advice in high regard, Mrs. Pots," Adam encouraged.

"I think…if you were to take some time alone with Belle…she could see that despite your outward appearance and the change of the castle, that things have not changed…in your heart." She smiled at Adam as he thought this over. "She simply needs reassurance, Sire."

Adam nodded and smiled, "Of course…and the sooner the better. Mrs. Pots. Do you think the kitchen staff could set up a private dinner for Belle and I? On the balcony?"

Smiling, Mrs. Pots liked his idea. "Of course, My Lord."


	3. Chapter 3

Adam groaned as he reclined into the large sofa in his private chambers. Closing his eyes, he released himself to the one thought that he had tried so hard to keep at bay the whole week. He wanted Belle. There was no getting around it. Images of their last night together, before she went to her father, before the battle between the villagers and the palace inhabitants, before his change from beast to man.

His cock ached as he remembered that night. He remembered how she had kissed him, her hands stroking his fur and sending tingling sensations through his whole body. He remembered how her golden gown had fallen away to reveal soft flesh in only her white corset and bloomers. She carefully removed these things, for fear that his claws would render them to shreds. He remembered watching as she blushed, as her breasts were revealed. They were so plump and pink and beautiful. He tasted them, lapping at her nipples and cupping them in his paws so carefully.

He too undressed, hurriedly and leaving tears in his britches and jacket. His cock, engorged and throbbing, was bare for her speculation. She touched it and he had almost cum then and there. It had been so terribly long since anyone besides him had caressed his member and her hands were like silk. She stroked the shaft, pulling back his foreskin to reveal the pink-red head glistening with pre-cum. He watched her brown eyes widen as she traced the whole length of him, wondering at the size.

Unable to take it much longer, he pulled at her bloomers until she was bare before him. He knelt and breathed in her scent as he nuzzled the triangle of curls between her thighs. Slowly she reclined on the pile of clothes they had made and he spread her wide. Her scent was intoxicating and he longed to taste her.

His tongue traced first her outer lips then, delving within, the inner lips up to the bud of her clit. Oh the noises she had made then as he lapped at her sweet nectar. Quickly he rose, licking his jowls as he positioned himself above her. She looked up at him, no fear, such trust in her eyes. Those doe-like eyes, prey beneath the predator.

He entered slowly, feeling her heat and wetness engulf his shaft. When he hit the wall of her hymen he thrust and broke through, sheathing himself completely and filling her to the point that she cried out. Fearing he had hurt her more than was customary, he stilled and nearly fled. It was her hands fisted into his fur that kept him there, that and the way her legs slowly moved to encircle his hips.

After a moment, that felt like eternity, he moved within her. Soon her whimpers turned to moans and he was growling as he pounded into her soft, hot body. Before he could cum he stopped and pulled out. The look of need and curiosity on her face pleased him just as much as the sensation of her pussy at his tip.

He moved her over to her belly and helped her onto her knees. Entering form behind felt so natural too him, so bestial. He could smell the puddle of her juices and blood on the ballroom floor beneath them now and it urged him on as he thrust. Each movement brought him to the hilt of his cock and each time he pulled out entirely only to hammer into her completely again. Both of them let out bestial cries as he came, sending hot seed into her body.

Remembering now, Adam pulled out his cock and stroked it needily. One hand gripped the back of the sofa. He remembered the look of her face as she screamed in her own orgasm, the way his cum dripped out of her as he continued to fuck her hard until his cock became too flaccid to continue. He cried out and came across his belly as he remembered how she had looked after, exhausted with his cum all down her inner thighs and puddling beneath her. Her pussy lips were swollen and red and still spread from his fucking. They had lain together for hours after, messy and sticky and blissful.

Having cum, Adam could have dried. That first time with Belle had been the only time. Now they were separated not just by castle walls and corridors but by her refusal to even look him in the eye the few times they were in the room together.

Closing his eyes, he returned to the only reason he could think of for the silence. Belle loved the Beast and not he, the man that had been beneath the creature that had once been. If he could, he would return to his animal form, if only to feel her hands on him again, to meet her eyes again, to breath in her scent.

"Belle," he sighed in desperation to the empty room.


End file.
